MiG SP-5 (MiG-15bis With Radar)

[McGreig]

About four years ago HobbyBoss released a very nice 1/72 MiG-15. Then, about two years ago, Airfix released their own very nicely fitting (if woefully inaccurate) MiG-15. Recently, sprue shots of  Eduard's long awaited MiG-15 have appeared on the Internet. And, of course, KP's old but accurate kit can still be obtained (if you don't mind a lot of flash trimming due to ageing moulds).

So, given all this, what better time to build the ancient Airfix kit - - - -  

Like my canard MiG-21, this project was started in August 2008 (as another "quick" build) and then ground to a halt almost immediately.

The old Airfix MiG-15 kit was originally issued in 1876, some time between Bell registering his telephone patent and Custer's Last Stand, and it shows its age.

Apart from its general air of antiquity, the kit is an odd mixture - the fuselage is overscale and the canopy bears no relationship to anything ever designed by the MiG OKB, but the wings are pretty much OK, apart from having the flaps outlined with a raised line. And of course, it has the "see-through" fuselage so popular on early jet kits.

So, if you want an accurate MiG-15, don't start from here. But, as with the Hasegawa MiG-21, I wondered what could be done to create a reasonably accurate model with this kit.

Comparing the parts to the KP and HobbyBoss kits it seemed that, if you used these as a guide and cut down the Airfix fuselage, then you could at least end up with a model that was dimensionally OK, if a little too fat.



The first photo shows two Airfix fuselage halves (I'm building another of these) rejoined after a portion of the central fuselage was removed. Blanking plates and a basic cockpit have been added from plastic card.



The second photo shows the assembled fuselage with a basic cockpit interior and an ejection seat (from a KP kit?) added. I have also replaced the original Airfix nose with the radar nose from the Hasegawa MiG-17, to produce the SP-5 interceptor, rather than the standard MiG-15.



The Airfix air brake is oversize and fits badly. I solved this by gluing it shut, filling the gaps, sanding it flat and deciding not to rescribe it on the basis that Life Is Too Short. (However, I did rescribe the raised line outline of the flaps.) I also added an Aeroclub vacform canopy. This can all be seen in photo 3.

After some work on the undercarriage and the addition of the distinctive, squared off kink at the trailing edge of the wing root, the model was ready for painting.



In the real world the SP-5 was fitted with Izumrood-1 radar in 1950 to produce an all weather interceptor version of the MiG-15bis. However, although the installation was successful and the Izumrood-1 was recommended for production, it was never fitted to production MiG-15s, eventually entering service in 1952 on the more capable MiG-17. This meant that the SP-5 remained as a one-off prototype finished in Aluminium with six red stars. Boring.



So, like the Ye-6T/3 version of the Hasegawa MiG-21, I decided to look for an alternative whiff colour scheme. I assumed that, if the SP-5 had been produced in series it would probably have ended up as an operational trainer or in service with non-Warsaw Pact export customers. Iraq seemed to fit the requirement (especially as I have a lot of spare Iraqi decals!)





The model was painted with Humbrol enamels, varnished with Klear for the decal application, and then finished with a coat of Klear matted down with acrylic Tamiya Flat Base.

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Great paintwork. Believable project too 

Ian

[Dizzyfugu]

Nice! But it's so clean...

[McGreig]

Nice! But it's so clean...

You want kitbashing and weathering!!!??? 

[NARSES2]

Well talk about a pigs ear into a silk purse - that just shows what can be done with these old kits 

Must admit I to tend not to weather my models, they are all made as if they've just been prepared for the CO's inspection  I admire people who can weather well I must admit but some of it is just overdone IMHO especially in 1/72 scale

[Dizzyfugu]

Nice! But it's so clean...

You want kitbashing and weathering!!!???  

Yes! The full Monty!   But I agree: weathering can easily go awry on aircraft. These are not military vehicles that litarelly crawl in dust and dirt - but you can do subtle things like sun-bleaching, replaced/repainted panels or areas. But it's personal taste, and one can argue if it makes sense on a whif.

On the other side, reality CAN be worse than you'd ever expect...


Found at airliners.net

[ChernayaAkula]

^ IIRC, this one looks that patchy because it's pictured on a shakedown flight after the overhaul, but before the repaint.

[loupgarou]

^ IIRC, this one looks that patchy because it's pictured on a shakedown flight after the overhaul, but before the repaint.

PATCHY ?? I thought it had flown too low through a swamp!  
loupgarou

[Army of One]

THAT'S an Airfix Mig 15.... Wow....great job....!!

[ChernayaAkula]

^ IIRC, this one looks that patchy because it's pictured on a shakedown flight after the overhaul, but before the repaint.

PATCHY ?? I thought it had flown too low through a swamp!  
loupgarou

No, the swamp flyer is this one.

[Dizzyfugu]

^ IIRC, this one looks that patchy because it's pictured on a shakedown flight after the overhaul, but before the repaint.

Yes, this one was made ready to be sold, IIRC to Georgia. Former aerobatics team machine, hence the fancy livery - but still a shocking sight! The "swamp runner" is also a cool find. 

[ChernayaAkula]

Almost forgot: Nice model!  Much more could'a'been than what-if. Could fool a lot of people. 

Yes, this one was made ready to be sold, IIRC to Georgia. Former aerobatics team machine, hence the fancy livery - but still a shocking sight! The "swamp runner" is also a cool find. 

They must have a wry kind of humour if they really want to sell it to the Georgians, given that they had some paratroopers blow up a couple of Georgian Frogfoots Frogfeet Su-25s on the ground in the August 2008 Russo-Georgian War. 
Regarding the Sky Hussars livery, it sounds crazy, but they actually flew these in combat over Chechnya - gaudy livery and all.  I'd love to build one of these some nice day. Really wouldn't mind Zvezda doing a 1/72 one up to their latest standards. The cool thing about Russian Su-25s is that it's virtually impossible to overdo the weathering.